Signs of LD/ADHD in School-Age Children

• Poor or excessively dark handwriting; trouble holding a pencil
• Difficulty cutting or coloring within the lines
• Trouble tying shoe laces, buttoning clothes, or throwing a ball
• Inability to match and group shapes and sizes
• Confusion identifying similar letters, numbers, and words (e.g., m/w, 6/9, hat/fat)
• Poor sense of direction (e.g., up vs. down, left vs. right, front vs. back) or time
• Struggles to read or understand what has been read
• Difficulty expressing ideas, responds to questions with very cursory answers, or talks around the topic without getting ideas across
• Failure to finish tasks
• Inconsistent grades within subjects and over the course of the school year
• Refusal to do homework or failure to turn in homework
• Restlessness, undirected activity; inability stay in chair
• Daydreaming, or does not appear to hear what parents/teachers say
• Delay in hopping, jumping, skipping
• Difficulty cooperating with others and following group rules
• Inability to stay on task because gets bored or
  gets frustrated easily
• Tendency to be very literal, misunderstands jokes
  and humor
• Disturbs other children in class
• Difficulty adjusting to new routines or changes in routine